Highlights & News

NFPA Withdraws NFPA Standards 1124, 1128 & 1129

The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) Standards Council (SC) in an unprecedented maneuver, has issued a formal decision to temporarily withdraw the entire 2013 edition of NFPA 1124, along with NFPA 1128 & 1129, the test method standards supporting the retail sale and storage of consumer fireworks in Chapters 6 & 7. The decision states that NFPA will no longer develop standards in connection with the storage of retail sales of consumer fireworks, and the scope of the Technical Committee on Pyrotechnics has been stripped of any authority to develop requirements regarding consumer fireworks retail sales and storage.

Additionally, the decision directs the Technical Committee on the Fire Code to process a Temporary Interim Amendment (TIA) to NFPA 1, to remove all provisions concerning the retail sales and storage of consumer fireworks extracted from NFPA 1124. 

The action by NFPA appears to be retaliatory because the APA filed a Complaint with the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) on October 21, 2013, appealing the issuance of NFPA’s Technical Interim Amendment (TIA) to NFPA 1124, limiting the size of all permanent consumer fireworks retail sales facilities and stores to no greater than 3,000 sq. feet for new buildings, and no greater than 7,500 sq. feet for existing buildings -- thresholds below which NFPA 1124 does not require automatic sprinklers.   APA’s ANSI Appeal, however, was directed at NFPA’s failure to follow its standards development process that led to development of the TIA and subsequent issuance by NFPA’s SC.   NFPA is an ANSI accredited standards development organization.  As such, our Appeal is focused on the myriad actions by which the NFPA violated its own standards development procedures as well as ANSI essential requirements. 

The APA believes NFPA’s SC issued its recent decision presumably because NFPA did not want to answer the serious procedural errors identified in APA’s ANSI Appeal. 

APA members click here for more detailed information and the possible impact of this temporary withdrawal.